Ruling confirms QF acted illegally in sacking ground handlers during the pandemic.
Qantas says it “acknowledges and accepts” a High Court decision handed down this morning, which upholds two prior Federal Court rulings regarding the legality of outsourcing the remainder of the airline’s ground handling functions in 2020.
The Federal Court had originally ruled that while there were “valid and lawful commercial reasons for the outsourcing, it could not rule out that Qantas also had an unlawful reason – namely, avoiding future industrial action”, the company said in a statement.
“The High Court has now effectively upheld this interpretation,” Qantas confirmed.
The ruling will likely see the carrier face a large fine as well as pay the legal costs for the Transport Workers Union which brought the case more than two years ago.
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers confirmed that its team would now ask the Federal Court to hear claims for compensation for all adversely impacted workers “and then seek a substantial penalty against Qantas”.
More details in today’s issue of Travel Daily.